Filmmaker Ilya Naishuller‘s feature debut, Hardcore Henry, may have divided audiences over its narrative and first-person perspective. Still, it was hard to dismiss the phenomenal action sequences and high-octane action stylings. For his follow-up, Naishuller drops the gimmickry and teams up with John Wick writer Derek Kolstad to deliver a darkly comedic action-thriller that keeps its stylized carnage on full display. Nobody doesn’t reinvent the action-thriller wheel, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously either, making for an immensely entertaining experience.

The eponymous nobody is Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), a mild-mannered family man that takes life’s punches without complaint. One night, a pair of thieves break into his house, resulting in a standoff between the thieves, his teen son (Gage Monroe), and himself that ends with Hutch choosing passivity. That alienates his son and seems to cause his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) to pull further away. Nearly everyone around Hutch offers emasculating commentary, and an aftermath moment finally triggers his long-simmering rage. Violence erupts, sending Hutch through a series of events that put him directly in the crosshairs of a Russian crime boss seeking brutal retribution.

Nobody pulls from a few notable genre tropes. The beleaguered family man pushed past his snapping point and into a vengeance quest reads like countless other thrillers. That Hutch hides a dark past steeped in ruthless violence, one he left behind for love, will draw obvious comparisons to John Wick. Naishuller and Kolstad forge a different path by injecting humor, lovingly poking fun at these familiar tropes through subversion. The aim is to offer up a raucous time that leaves you with a big grin on your face, whether through pitch-black comedy or breathless, bone-crunching action sequences.

Odenkirk is perfectly cast, almost against type, as the anti-hero. Hutch may not initially seem like a vicious killer, and he does have to ease his way back into it after retirement. Odenkirk handles the fight choreography with engaging plausibility. It helps that Hutch takes almost as much punishment as he doles out, but mostly it’s in Odenkirk’s comedic range- watching Hutch toy around with and share personal anecdotes with dying foes never gets old.  

Any true action hero gets help along the way, leading to more against-type casting brilliance. Christopher Lloyd plays Hutch’s retirement home-dwelling father, injecting his brand of comedy to the fold while given moments to shine. RZA pops in to offer invaluable aid, too. Conversely, the narrative briefly plays with expectations of Michael Ironside’s tough-guy character actor reputation. Don’t look for much depth or character development, however. That includes big bad Yulian (Aleksey Serebryakov), a stereotypical villain that always seems two steps behind his savvy opponent.

That Yulian fails to be compelling or intimidating contributes to the film’s overall low stakes. Despite Hutch’s battered body, his wit, adaptability, and hit-man professionalism mean you never question whether he’ll succeed. The real question is how, and the answer is with style: Naishuller crafts exhilarating and propulsive action-sequences and set pieces. The hyper-stylization and blood-letting are grounded by the gallows humor, complete with needle drops meant to elicit a laugh. It works.

Naishuller’s latest is a lean action-thriller full of visceral violence and biting humor. There’s no ounce of fat or depth in terms of narrative, and the central villain lacks any real presence. None of that matters much when it’s apparent that this Odenkirk-led cast is having an absolute blast. It’s infectious from the opening scene that sees Hutch pulls out a kitten from his coat while in an interrogation room; you’re in for a wild ride that never lets up. It’s the precise type of crowd-pleasing, brutally funny action-thriller that leaves you eager to follow the Hansells on any blood splatter-filled journey.

Nobody releases in theaters on March 26, 2021.